According to the article, the Yemen government’s announcement that it had captured an Iranian ship smuggling arms to the Houthis [1] meant that Yemen-Iran relations were at a turning point: “Although Tehran denied reports that an Iranian vessel carrying armor-piercing weapons to the Houthi rebels was captured off the Yemen coast, the incident added a new element to the many that are contributing to the deterioration in Yemen-Iran relations and have led them to [this critical point]. It would seem that San’a’s anger over Iran’s interferences is growing along with the senior Yemen officials’ conviction that Iran is finding more and more way of supporting the Houthis - whether through funds, weapons, or media support.

“Tension reached its peak two weeks ago, when San’a cancelled the Yemen visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who was coming to discuss relations between the two countries - which have been in a very sensitive condition indeed since the outbreak, 10 weeks ago, of the sixth war between the Yemen military and the Houthis.”

According to Al-Watan, the Yemen government fears that Iran’s support for the Houthis is aimed at undermining stability in Yemen, and at turning the country into an arena for wars - and thus threatening Saudi Arabia. It wrote: “San’a is still using diplomatic [language] regarding Iran’s support for the Houthis, by saying that it is [certain] elements in the Iranian religious establishment that are behind it, and not the Iranian leadership. But elements who follow Yemen-Iran relations confirm that San’a’s patience has been worn thin by Iran’s interference in its domestic affairs, and that it is not ruling out the possibility that the Houthis have direct contacts with high-ranking Iranian officials.

In order to defend the most powerful economy - and biggest oil reserves - of the Persian Gulf, the Saudi Kingdom’s 9,000km (5,590 mile) border is currently being reinforced with one of the longest security fences in the world.

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A security fence is already in place on the Yemeni border, also built by EADS.